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March 14,1974 PHOENIX Page 13Private Restorers Deserve Guidance:Local Gov't. Should Help Untie Bureaucratic KnotsBY DAVID FEINGOLDIn a recent memo to all Housing and Development Adm inistration staff, Roger Starr, H .D A%u2019s newly-appointed Adm inistrator, stated that private investment was the key to neighborhood renewal. In discussing the Crown Heights Neighborhood Preservation program, he said, %u201c the Preservation (program) can be judge successful only if it produces a high level of new investment interest...Everything we (i.e. H.D.A. staff) do to encourage that investment will be good for Neighborhood Preservation; anything we do to discourage it, wiii be bad.%u201d He added that a major role of the Crown Heights office was to make new investors believe that they were a part of a widespread upward movement in the area as a whole.My wife and I have been living in Cobble Hill for almost two years. During this time, we have seen substantial improvements, made to the community and to surrounding area. Most of this work has been done with private funds: brownstoners renovating.. MR. FEINGOLD lives OHTompkins Place in CobbleHill and has been active in anum ber of com m unityendeavors over the past twoyears, including the successful campaign to restorelibrary services to the area.During the past seven yearshe has worked for the City'sHousing and DevelopmentAdministration in Brooklyn.newly-purchased house; artists moving into lofts and setting up studios; craftspeople opening shops in vacant storefronts; and organizations expanding private schools or religious institutions.More often than not, this work was done in spite of the City%u2019s cumbersome bureaucracy and confusing regulations. Inspectors from the Fire or Health Department, the Department of Sanitation, and the seemingly ubiquitous Buildings Department appear from time to time. At best they show indifference to the problems of the renovator; at worst they stop work or make it impossible to continue. Costs to the investor are increased, often substantially, when he is forced to comply with ambiguous and outmoded regulations or to pay bribes to inspectors.Once renovation is completed, the proud owner is rewarded with a higher assessed valuation, added insurance costs, and other increased taxes and surcharges. Rental of the new craft shop may suddenly rise, while an artist may find his new lease beyond his means. Very often unexpected taxes may be levied; as one example, the City has in the past imposed additional taxes when gas lights or outside displays are added to a house or a store.Administrator Starr's point is very well taken. The City must nurture the individual's commitment to undertake renewal. The snowballing effect of an area's renovation needs encouragement. It should be the City%u2019s role to assist new owners to understand and meet regulations, and to aid investorsGasoline Siphoning MayBe Hazardous to HealthDr. Vincent de Paul Larkin, Director of Medical Affairs at The Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn has reminded motorists on the hazards of using the mouth to siphon gasoline. He said that the shortage of gasoline has resulted in many individuals accidently swallowing gasoiine while attempting to siphon gas trom one car to anoiner.Dr. Larkin advises that in most instances, only local irrita tio n or an upset stomach will result. Subject to the amount swallowed, more serious consequences can develop. The inhalation of the substance, however, can cause a depression ofthe nervous system, resulting in unconsciousness and convulsions.%u201c Gasoline in the lungs can cause a severe chemical pneumonia that is difficult to treat and it does not respond to antibiotics,%u201d Dr. Larkin pointed out. The doctor recommended that large amounts of ingested gasoline be removed cautiously by medical professionals.If there is some question, the best thing to do is immediately call the Poison Center of the City of New York at (212) 340-4494 or the Emergency Room of the nearest hospital.in overcoming obstacles and in reducing expenses. While some regulations are, of course, required to protect the quality of life in a neighborhood (for example, the rules of the Landmarks Preservation Commission are designed to preserve the historic features of an area), too often City regulations are negative in their effects and destructive in their results.Other cities have been highly and visibly successful in assisting private investment to revitalize run-down areas which once were fashionable. Many of us have visited these communities %u2014 for example Giradelli Square and the Mission District in San Francisco, Pioneer Square in Seattle, Gastown in Vancouver, Lincoln Park in Chicago, or Society Hill in Philadelphia. Here one sees areas which once consisted of transient hotels, rooming houses, warehouses and loft buildings, and garbage-strewn lots transformed into active, vital centers which attract constant attention from local residents and tourists alike. In these cities local government has played an active and effective role in assisting this investment and growth.As one example, Chicag has shown unusual responsiveness to turtnering tne renovation movement and encourages private citizens to revitalize their neighborhoods through local offices placed in at least 14 conservation areas. These offices offer information and assistance on financing, zoning laws, Building Departmentr is e n il - a t ir v n c a n r l n t h n r i t n m c o f . .w, - . . w . ~ ~ .interest to investors.What is apparent is that while many cities have experienced restoration and renewal because of careful planning and the provision of incentives by local government, New York has had substantial rehabilitation despite the City%u2019s governmental structure. Some help has been made available to the would-be brownstoner from such private organizations as the Brooklyn Heights Association and the Park Slope Civic Council, or from City-wide groups like the Brownstone Revival Committee.Some City assistance has also been available; agencies such as the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Office of Downtown Brooklyn Renewal, and the South Brooklyn Mayor's Task Force Office have been the exceptions to Governm ent%u2019s indifference. However, these offices and others like them have tiny staffs and restricted powers. They have almost no authority to help the renovator with many of his or her problems, and they have no jurisdiction over agencies like the Rent Commission, Buildings Department, or Sanitation Department. Usually the idividual must cope with the red tape and frustrations alone and often rehabilitation is discouraged or stopped.One solution might be for the City to set up branches of the Landmarks Preservation Commission in each of the City's designated Historic Districts.Each office should have staff to assist would-be investors with their problems, be it the financing of a first mortgage or obtaining a zoning variance to permit the establishment of a craft store on a residential street. These offices should have City inspectors assigned to them from whatever agencies could be helpful; and these inspectors should be made accountable to the director of the local area.Each Landmarks office could work closely with the existing area associations on specific projects, such as the creation of a vest-pocket park (now in the hands of the Mayor's Office), the development of a rational parking system (now arranged by the Department of Traffic), or the re-zoning of an area (now up to the City Planning Commission). Efforts could be directed toward working with banks and other institutions to--- ~ I - %u2014 ---- %u2014 %u2014\%u2022%u2014-* %u00ab *-%u00bb M M ai ____ _______________11 ic r n c 11 iw i i g u g i * i i i u f i i c g u n u m i l l i o n a i n j nloans available. In short, these offices could serve as stimulants to investment and improvement, and the City would be seen as a partner for change and renewal.An idea which has excited me is the possibility of turning a large warehouse or loft building, such as the Eagle Warehouse in Brooklyn Heights, into a multifloor center of specialty stores and craft shops, similar to the Cannery or Giradelli Square in San Francisco. Such a building could serve as an outlet for the artists who are now setting up their studios in the Heights. To date, this type of development has not been possible due to high coSts and overlapping Governmental jurisdiction and bureaucracy. A governmental office such as I have suggested could help coordinate the services of the many City agencies and private interests, and make the project profitable to the sellers and shoppers alike.Another roles of these area offices would be to provide rewards to renovation which follows the guidelines of the L.P.C. One way to encourage restoration would be to provide tax abatement to owners who make improvements in accordance with historic accuracy, and to suspend other increased taxes and assessments. Efforts could also be directed tc working with insurance com panies and banks to keep costs from rising once renovation is complete.New legislation may soon be coming from Washington which will channel monies into cities through revenue sharing or community development. These local offices could assist the City in directing these funds to projects which are beyond the power of the individual: examples which come to mine are the landscaping of Prospect and Fort Greene Parks, the dredging of the Gowanus Canal, or the repaving of Court Street. A valuable role could also be played in working out compromises between the needs of area residents and those of institutions in need of expansion, such as L. I. C. H. and Methodist Hospital.This proposal would not require new funds, nor would it entail the hiring of more staff. City personnel could be supplemented by volunteers from the neighborhood who have gone through the renovation process. The legislation which created the L. P. C. seems sufficiently broad to encompass this type of proposal; it would of course, have to be modified after full discussion and public hearings. What is required to make this proposal a reality is the vision by our City Ad0 ic-aaSignexisting monies and personnel, and to imbue in these offices a new spirit of helpfulness. Roger Starr has made a good start with H.D.A. His ideas have worked elsewhere, and with cooperation from the rest of the City Government and from New York's residents, they could also work here.